Daily Thoughts from Acts: The Gentiles and Spirit Baptism (Acts 10:44-48)

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.  (Acts 10:44-48 ESV)

The Jews, the Samaritans, and now the Gentiles, have experienced the baptism in the Spirit giving proof that God has brought each people group, including the Gentiles, into the kingdom fold and the church is now made up of all peoples.  Peter is again the instrument, the key, to their entrance.  Jesus gave him the keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16:19), so that what he binds on earth is also bound in heaven.  He has made the judgment, based on overwhelming evidence in the form of Spirit baptism, that these are genuine believers and accepted by God.  The evidence of Spirit baptism is the Spirit’s manifestations of prophecy and tongues.  There is no question that Cornelius and company have believed in their hearts.

Interestingly, in light of Romans 10:9, Cornelius has yet to confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord.  That is what Paul would normally expect as evidence that someone has believed in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead.  That is why Paul makes the dual requirement for salvation.  But in the case of Cornelius and household, their reception of the Spirit and subsequent prophesying shows that God knew what was in their hearts.  In one sense, no verbal confession was required, though no doubt what they prophesied included acknowledgement of Jesus’ lordship.

Consequently, no one can argue that they should not be baptized. God has made it clear that they are “clean” and accepted by Him.  There is no need to circumcise the men, clean out food from their home that isn’t kosher, or any other trappings of the Law that many Jews had assumed made one acceptable before God.  And Peter did not call the church in Caesarea together to witness the baptism (assuming there was a church in that city, which there likely was, Acts 8:40; 9:30).  He merely and immediately baptized them.  The witnesses were the Jewish believers he had wisely brought with him. 

This fits, too, with Paul’s practice in the case of the Philippian jailer, who is saved in the middle of the night and immediately baptized (Acts 16:33).  The action of baptism is not so much for the church at large as it is for these believers, an acting out of their new faith in Christ by symbolically identifying with Jesus and the new life he has given them.  They are marking their conversion in a very powerful, bodily way.  We know that it is not essential to their salvation, because it occurs after they have already received the Holy Spirit.  God has acknowledged that they are fully and finally saved by granting the Spirit to them.  You don’t get baptized to get saved, you get saved to be baptized.

We may now suppose that anyone, Jew, Samaritan or Gentile, whoever believes in Jesus, will receive the Holy Spirit and be considered part of the body of Christ without necessary mediation through an apostle or even with the specific and unique manifestations of the Spirit.  This is evident in chapter 19 where we see Paul asking disciples if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed.  That is the new precedent and expectation of how and when someone who believes receives the Spirit.  That is why Paul cannot conceive of a true believer not having the Spirit in their life (Romans 8:9,10; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

The Pentecostal/Charismatic movement has contributed so much to our understanding of the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives, but they have gotten this aspect of it, Spirit baptism, wrong.  It is not something that some Christians have and some don’t.  It does not have to be evidenced by speaking in tongues.  But the evidence of the Spirit’s presence in our lives is in the character of the lives we live, as Paul explains in Romans 8 and Galatians 5:16-25.  He is enabling us to keep the law of God (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:25-27), one aspect of His promise in the New Covenant.